Night Into Dawn and Beyond
by clcummins12
Summary: Part of "The Night Series" Story #2 In order to understand where this is coming from you should read "The Night Over" first. This is the continuation of the relationship between Kate Beckett and Richard Castle... R/R
1. Chapter 1

****ATTENTION** This is a sequel to my first story: 'A Night Over'. So in order to understand where this story is starting off from you need to read that one. Thanks :)**

**So I'm going to be honest here. This first Chapter was very hard to write! I am not a very big fan of it, but like my other story, just stick with it and I promise it will get better :) As always, you are welcome to follow me on twitter: clcummins12 where I will keep everyone updated! Thanks and enjoy!**

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Night Into Dawn and Beyond: Chapter 1

Beckett sat at her desk reading over the case that was set before her. Piles of papers were stacked all over her desk, making it almost impossible to see her. She looked intently at the papers in front of her, glancing up once or twice thinking about what she had just read then looking down once more. She didn't understand why anyone would want her dead. True, the guy was a psycho. But even psycho's had a little bit of sense didn't they?

She wanted to get this case solved, the sooner the better. She wasn't sure if she would be able to sleep another soundless night until this guy was behind bars. If it weren't for Castle she would have been up all night worrying herself.

_'Castle…'_ Kate thought about what had gone on just the night before. She thought of all the new experiences she had had with him. She thought of how she wanted to do it again; then cursed at herself for thinking that way. She was a cop, a very good one at that. She took her job very seriously and didn't want a relationship ruin that.

True, Castle was charming and could be very sweet at times…but a relationship with him, that was a whole other step for her to take. One that she was perhaps not ready to take quite yet.

She looked at the murder board, trying to get her mind focused back on work.

His hands, oh how they had felt so good running over her body. And when he filled her, when she had taken the ride of her life…_'Kate, focus!'_ she told herself.

No matter how hard she tried she couldn't forget what had happened last night. And this morning, well that was a different story…

_Kate woke up at five o'clock as always, not a minute had passed. She felt something heavy along her side. Castle's arm was thrown over her, as though it was something natural, something he did every night. She decided to lay there for a few minutes, taking in the moment, wishing this was something natural, something she experienced every morning. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't._

_She heard him breathing in and out, his breath lightly touching the back of her neck. It made chills go up her spine. Once in while he would let out a soft snore. She smiled, thinking that she would have to tease him about this later._

_Kate didn't regret what had happened last night-she enjoyed it. But she had heard what could happen if you were sexually involved with a partner at work. It could skew your judgment, make you nervous, or worse, for Kate's case, someone could get away with murder. Kate decided right then and there that she would not allow that to happen. _

_She slowly shook his arm gently, trying to wake him up. _

"_Castle..." she whispered turning around towards him._

_He breathed in deeply and she began to run her fingers down his chest. She moved her hands up to play with his hair and he opened one eye._

"_Are you trying to seduce me?" he said jokingly._

_She laughed. "I have to get up for work. And-"_

"_You think it would be best if we went in separately." He said, cutting her off. She thought at first he would be mad that she wanted to keep what had happened between them a secret. He smiled, relieving her fears. "It's fine, I understand."_

_She smiled and gave him a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, dragging her over him. _

_She laughed. "I really have to go. I can't be late." She said quickly kissing him, for what she thought would be the last time and walked over toward her door and put on her robe._

_Kate knew that what she was doing was wrong. She felt like she was almost taking advantage of him. She knew that you should never mix work with pleasure but Castle, well any other girl who saw him would want him. There were doubts that were beginning to rise now. Doubts about if she had done the right thing, doubts that told her she should end it, doubts that asked her if there even was anything to end._

She heard someone sit down beside her, making her snap out of her daydream. There was no need to look up, she knew who it was. His masculine smell with the hint of the cologne which he wore began to fill the area around her. She smiled, remembering back to the night she had just shared with him. Remembering all the emotions that had been released. And she realized that for once in her life she felt like herself. She felt that she no longer needed to hide anything and could be open to the world. Well, maybe not too open, she thought again.

He sat there, just simply staring. He saw the top of her head now and again and sometimes she would look up enough just to see the tops of her eyes. He loved the way her eyes could go from a dark brown to a light hazel color in just seconds. He wondered how she would react to what had happened last night. This morning she had been fine when she was getting ready to come in to the station. He wondered about tonight, would he stay over again? Would she stay with him? Would they go back to how everything used to be? Castle hoped not.

She looked up to see Castle smiling at her. She looked, questioningly at first, but then she broke out into a small smile as well. He held out a cup of coffee. "I picked you up something on the way in." he said, wondering if he was over-stepping his boundary zones. He looked so cute when he was nervous.

She smiled politely taking the coffee from him and sipped it. It was her favorite kind, a hot creamy caramel with a hint of whipped cream added to the top. She couldn't help but smile as the creamy goodness hit her throat. He gave her a smile in return.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" he asked wanting to keep things as normal as possible for her so the awkwardness would not take over.

"To see if CSU got any prints off of the phone booth; then visit his apartment again, just to make sure we haven't missed anything." She said getting up.

"So my car or yours?" he asked getting up to follow her down the hall. She just simply turned back at him and smiled.

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Anyone who was watching the two could tell that something had happened between them. Perhaps it was the fact that they looked at each other differently. Perhaps it was that their knees kept lightly brushing against each other. Perhaps it was the fact that neither one of them could stop smiling. Lanie watched them before getting on the elevator to go down to her lab. Whatever it was, she was going to figure it out and see what exactly was going on between the two.

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**Reviews are appreciated :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**This Chapter takes place a few weeks after the first one...hope you enjoy it :) **

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Night Into Dawn and Beyond: Chapter 2

"There's got to be something that shows where he's going to strike next." She said looking at the murder board.

They had worked five hours, took a thirty minute lunch break, and were now on their ninth hour looking at stacks and stacks of case files. Going to look at the apartment again had been a failure. They still were not able to find any clues as to whom the serial killer, her stalker, was.

The precinct was mostly empty. There were still a few cops sitting on the other side of the room, either quietly talking on the phone or doing paperwork. Beckett had told Esposito and Ryan to go on home to rest. She said that she would be following them shortly, that had been two hours ago.

Castle looked over at Kate who was busy reading one of the murder cases for the tenth time now, Castle was keeping count.

"Perhaps if you read it for an eleventh time you'll find something." Castle said, giving her a sarcastic look.

"It's happened before." Was all Kate said as her eyes were busily scanning the paper.

"Here." He said reaching over her and taking the folder out of her hand. He closed it up and laid it on her desk. "Why don't we go eat dinner, since neither one of us has had anything, and we'll come back early tomorrow and start again."

Castle intended this to be a question, but it sounded more like a demand. He could tell that Kate was tired by the way her eye lids drooped down. The best thing for her right now was rest. She needed that.

"Alright…" Kate said grudgingly, "As long as you promise we get here at five instead of eight tomorrow."

"Umm…" Castle said, hesitating.

"I'm just kidding Castle. I know how much you need your beauty sleep." She said jokingly.

He smiled as he went behind her to get her coat.

"What? No snappy remarks?" she asked as he helped her into her coat. One thing she always had loved about Castle was that he was always a gentleman. Even though he could be immature and say inappropriate things, he had always shown her respect. He had always shown her that he cared about her.

"Not tonight. But I'm sure I'll have plenty tomorrow after I've rested." He said as he turned her around to look at him.

Kate looked as if she hadn't slept for days. He merely stared at her. He did not need words to describe how he felt about her, his eyes said it all.

She looked at him wearingly. She was beat. With all the sex plus the extra hours she stayed at work, anyone could tell she was becoming sleep deprived. Not that she was complaining about the sex-it was fantastic! Never had Kate experienced any better.

He took her into his arms, giving her a warm embrace.

"Let's get out of here." He said taking her hand and leading her to the elevator.

She let him take her hand. It was because she was too tired to fight back, she told herself. That was only partially true. Truth be told, she liked Castle holding her; taking care of her. She would never let him know that of course. At least, not yet.

When the doors opened they stepped onto the elevator, still holding hands. He pressed the button for the first floor and then went behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back into his embrace taking in this side of Castle. The side that normally she was never to experience at work.

This side. Exactly how many sides did he have? How many personalities did he hold, waiting for her to discover?

There was the sarcastic, smart-ass Castle. At work, this was the role he portrayed, the role she normally saw. The one that liked to bug her and comment on everything she said.

There was the funny, witty Castle. This one was seen at work as well as out in public. The one who was normally making light and cracking jokes at everything that happened. The one who could make her laugh and smile, even during the most stressful of times.

There was the flirty, charming Castle. Come to think of it, she was beginning to see this one at work more often. He would often find some way to make contact with her, even the slightest move, just to touch her. Unnoticed, of course. Whether it was the subtle hint of shoulders touching when standing beside her or brushing his legs with hers at her desk, either way, he always made some gesture to show he was thinking about her.

Then, at times when they were alone, such as now, there was the romantic, compassionate Castle. The one who would no longer hide his feelings for her in fear that their relationship might be discovered. He, on the other hand, did not mind everyone to know that they were romantically involved. The only reason they were keeping it a secret was because she had asked him too.

Why? Why did she not want anyone to know that she was intimately involved with the famous author Richard Castle? What was stopping her from making that next step in their relationship, the next step that normal women took the first time they entered into a relationship. Normally, women would be gloating and showing off Rick to the world. So, why wasn't she? What made her any different from half of the women population in New York?

She held her breath as he leaned his head forward to take in her aroma. He smelt her familiar scent of cherries. She leaned back into him and only moved when the doors of the elevator opened.

He took her hand once more and they walked out together into the cool night.

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Castle decided to order take out. Sure, it was late, but lucky for him, he knew a guy. So not only had he gotten dinner rather late that night, but extremely cheap as well. Not that money really mattered to him. He was willing to do whatever was in his ability if only to make Kate happy. But, Kate, well she was different from most girls he had dated in the past. She was not with him just because of his money. He wanted to make their "relationship", he called it, official. Wanted to tell her exactly how he felt for her. He decided against it tonight, seeing that they were both exhausted and in need of sleep.

Almost the moment after he had opened the car door for Kate and she had gotten in, all she had to do was lean back into his comfortable seats and she was out. She wondered why she had not allowed him to drive her to any of the murder scenes before. After all, it had extremely comfortable seats and was very nice looking. He had a Volvo SC90. Although Castle sped through the city towards his house, she could tell that the car was his "baby" and he would be utterly distressed if anything ever happened to it.

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They were lying side by side, spread out on the couch in his penthouse. His arm was placed under her head, acting as a pillow. Castle was running his fingers gently through Kate's hair while her eyes slowly began to close at the feel of his touch. There was a movie playing, just to add noise in the background. Neither one of them was watching it. Castle's eyes were nearly closed too.

"Beckett…" He said gently.

"Hmm…" She said still half asleep.

"Let's go on to bed." He said. "Come on." He got up and moved over her, kissing her once on the lips. He slowly and gently got off the couch, almost falling off along the way. He regained his balance and bent down to pick her up.

He carried her up the steps to his bedroom. Laying her softly on the bed he went over to turn off the light. He removed his shirt and soon joined her in the king sized bed. He moved closer to her, cuddling with her and rested his face in her hair. She always smelt so good. At work it was very intoxicating and it was becoming harder and harder to keep his hands off of her. If not for her request to keep their relationship a secret he would have had his way with her long ago in the interrogation room.

Soon they were both fast asleep.

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Kate opened her eyes to find herself in new surroundings. She looked over at the clock on the table that lay beside the bed she found herself in. '8:30 a.m.'. Kate was surprised she had slept this late. She couldn't remember how she got here. She came to Castle's house. He had ordered take-out and they had enjoyed a quiet Chinese dinner-both had been exhausted and had just enjoyed each other's company.

Once they had finished, he went to put a movie on. Knowing that they both would not be watching the movie, Castle had turned the volume down. Just enough to where Kate was able to fall to sleep. Before she knew it, she was laying her head on Castle's chest with a blanket wrapped around both of them and she had closed her eyes. She had no idea what had happened after that.

She turned her head around to see Castle deep in sleep. Not wanting to disturb him, she gently got up and walked to his bathroom where she closed the door quietly and started the shower.

Kate stepped into the shower letting the hot water run over body. The water helped clear her head to where she no longer had to think and was able to relax and enjoy herself. She decided that she would let Castle sleep while she went on to work.

The shower didn't last long. She was already late and didn't want to waste much more time.

She stepped out, throwing on the towel she laid outside the shower door. She went to look at her complexion in the large mirror. Her eyes were still baggy, a sure sign that she was still tired. She could've gone back to bed. In fact, she was really tempted to go cuddle with Castle and have hot morning sex. That would probably help her day go better, she would have something to think about during the day… but, she had a job to do and she had already promised herself that she would catch this guy. 'The sooner the better' she had said.

She walked down the steps of Castle's apartment as quietly as possible. She was not sure if Alexis was home or not, but she didn't want to disturb her if she was.

She walked to the kitchen table, searching for a pen and paper. She wanted to scribble down a short note for Castle telling him where she went. He was a damn author and she couldn't even find a piece of paper anywhere. She was surprised he was so tidy. She was sure he had his daughter to thank for that. The Castle family relationship was not a normal one. Normally, it consisted of Alexis watching over Castle and taking care of him, while in turn, Castle took care of his mother. Kate smiled at the thought of remembering Alexis giving Castle a deadline to be home or telling him not to spoil his dinner when eating snack food. Alexis was very mature for her age. Castle was a very lucky father.

"Detective Beckett! How great it is to see you, darling!" She heard behind her just after she had found some paper.

Kate turned around to see Martha walking fluidly towards her.

"Hello Ms. Rodgers." Ms. Rodgers? Had Kate really just called Castle's mother by her last name? Didn't she normally just call her Martha? Why was she acting so weird? Wow…nerves really could do something to the way your brain responded.

"Martha, dear. Just Martha." Martha said smiling. "Where are you off to this fine morning?"

"Work." Kate said, her face did not look too happy about it. She loved her job, she really did. But who would like searching for a serial killer day after day and finding absolutely no clues in the process?

"Oh yes. Listen, Kate, I hope that you are ok. I know that tracking down a serial killer who is after you, specifically, is not an easy task." Martha came and put her hands over Kate, looking at her with sympathy. "If you need anything, anything at all, just let me know." Martha gave her a warm smile.

"Thank you. It's not easy, but it's just one of those things that comes along with the job description." She said trying to sound confident in herself.

"No. This is something that no young lady should have to experience. Richard has really seemed worried about you over the past couple of days." Martha told her.

"Well he has been very helpful and I'm sure we'll find this guy soon."

"You know he considered giving up his job because of this whole mess?" There it was. This is why Martha came to talk to her. She wanted to tell her about Rick, to talk about her son with her. True, she had wanted to show her sympathy, but Kate could almost guess that Martha wanted the 4-1-1 on how the relationship between them was going.

"He told me. I told him that was ridiculous. This case has nothing to do with his occupation. The killer would have just found something else to fixate on, none of this is Castle's fault. "

"Yes, well he doesn't seem to think so. He cares about you, Kate. I can see it in his eyes. He's never looked at anyone the way he looks at you."

Kate just stared at Martha. She didn't know what to say. What could you say to the mother of your…boyfriend? No…sex toy? That just sounded wrong. But honestly, what was Rick to her? He wasn't her boyfriend, she wouldn't let him be, at least not yet. So sex toy? Is that how she was going to define what Castle meant to her? _'I guess I have two things to figure out soon and fast'_, she thought to herself.

"Thank you." Was all Kate said.

"You're welcome. Well that's all you'll hear from me. Now you go on to work, I'll be sure to tell Richard that you went to work." Martha said, then walked off.

Kate stared at Castle's mother as she walked away. She wondered if what she said was true. She shook her head. _Time to focus on work_, and with that she picked up her purse and went out the door.

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**Hey guys! Thanks for keeping up with this story. Reviews are greatly appreciated and encouraged! **


	3. Chapter 3

Night Into Dawn And Beyond: Chapter 3

How could she be so stupid? Didn't she know that, being trained detectives, they would have known something had happened? First, she leaves her car at work and then arrives at work over an hour late. _'God Kate, you're so dumb,'_ she thought to herself. She knew they had probably already come up with many theories as of where she had gone and who she had been with.

No matter what happened, she could not tell them she was with Castle. She wanted to, but she wasn't ready. She just needed more time. She tried to think of an excuse as she got out of the taxi she was coerced to take to work. It felt like every eye was on her as she walked toward the entrance of the precinct.

She opened the door, self cautiously, and walked towards the elevator. Everyone seemed very quiet all of a sudden. She looked over to the corner and saw some people whispering while others were looking at her.

The whole squad room looked like they knew something happened. But did they know what or whom it had happened with? Probably not…hopefully not.

Getting on the elevator she rode it up to her floor. She took in a deep breath, knowing what was about to happen. The doors opened.

Every eye in the building turned towards her. Kate's hand went up to twirl her hair and she bit her bottom lip, something she did out of habit whenever she was nervous. She spotted Ryan and Esposito out of the group, both couldn't wipe the foolish grins they had spread across their faces. She walked towards her desk, not being able to suppress her cheeks from becoming red because of blushing.

"Good morning, detective." Came the familiar voice of Ryan and Esposito as they trapped her in between them and her desk.

"Good morning, boys." Kate replied, trying to ignore the fact that there was no way for her to escape their questioning.

"Have a good night last night?" Ryan asked, hoping to get some answers.

"It was good. No different from normal." Kate had found herself becoming instantly busy looking at papers that were laid on her desk. She began rummaging through them so she didn't have to look them in the face.

"We saw you take the taxi in this morning." Esposito spoke up. He was just as eager for answers as his partner was.

"I do that sometimes." Kate tried to act as normal as possible. She hated being drilled, which had started happening a lot more ever since Castle had come into the mix.

"And you left your car out in the parking lot." Ryan said, eyeing her.

"Yeah…I…" Kate trailed off, looking back down at the paper in front of her. "I want coffee." She said instantly, "Anyone else want coffee?"

She got up, pushing through both of the detective, and made her way towards the break room. She hoped that Ryan and Esposito would leave her alone and wait for her to come back, which she planned not to do. But was unfortunately stuck with them as they followed right behind. They were both snickering behind her, she could only guess what they were talking about…

"You know what's weird, detective?" Ryan said stopping in front of her as she began to pour herself some coffee.

Great, now she was trapped in between the boys and the counter. "What?" she asked trying to fake a smile.

"Security tapes." Esposito said. "We checked them and apparently you went home with Castle last night."

Shit, holy shit. Security cameras. Damnit! How could she have forgotten about those? _'What the hell were you thinking'_, Kate asked herself.

"I-well…I-"

"Hey guys." Said a familiar voice.

She turned her head toward the break room door and saw Castle. He was standing there, two coffee cups in hand. He simply looked at her skeptically, wondering what was going on. Ryan and Esposito were looking at him weird as well. They looked like they had a "I know what happened", look. Well they were detectives and they did work with other police officers. Perhaps some of them had seen something.

"Castle, we were just talking about you." Ryan said smiling. "We were just asking Beckett why she decided to take a taxi in this morning."

Esposito cut in. "We saw her car in the parking lot this morning, thought it odd. So we checked the security tapes…"

"And guess who she went home with last night?"

They could both not help from smiling and looking at each other before they turned back towards Castle and said at the same time, "You".

Castle hid his amusement as his eyes flashed to look at Kate's face. Her face was blank. He knew that she wanted him to deny it, to come up with some witty retort as he always did. But, for some reason he was so tempted to admit that they were seeing each other, he wanted to show her off to the world, not in a male chauvinistic way, but in a "I'm glad we're in a relationship and I'm not ashamed of you" type, way. He couldn't do that to her though. If he did, he was sure she would end it right then and there.

Castle was quiet for a few moments. Ryan and Esposito were no longer smiling. They knew that Beckett and Castle liked each other, but never thought it would actually happen. They thought Kate would be too guarded to allow someone like Castle to come in and turn her world upside down. They looked back between the two, wondering if it were really true, because if it was, they had both just lost fifty bucks.

"So it is true?" Ryan prompted, hoping to gain some ounce of reconciliation.

Kate kept looking at Castle. She wanted to tell the truth and Castle was leaving the decision up to her. He had given her time, letting them continue to see each other in secrecy. He had been patient, showing her that he cared about the way she felt. But, she also knew that he could not wait forever for her and she didn't want to hold him back. Here, in this moment, she was to make the decision. She was to decide whether she was ready or not to be open and let everyone know the truth of what was happening between them.

"No." she said and couldn't look at Castle anymore. He had turned his head down. She could sense the hurt that she had seen in his eyes. She didn't want him to be mad at her. She could tell that he was disappointed, but he let her finish. "My car was having problems so Castle gave me a ride to my apartment."

Castle turned to leave. He couldn't hear it, wouldn't hear it. He had given her time, weeks, in fact. Just hoping and praying that she would be ready to take that next step. He knew that she wasn't ready, but to hear her lie like that, he couldn't stand it. He needed room. He needed time to think.

Beckett stared after him. She felt horrible. She felt like she had just forced a dagger into his as well as her heart. She should go chase after Castle, go explain herself to him. But what else could she say to him that she hadn't already said before? She could make up excuses all that she wanted to, but she knew that wouldn't help either of them relieve the pain.

Now that she thought about it, had he ever said that he wanted anything more than sex? No. Had he ever asked her to be in a relationship with him? No. Had he ever told her that he wanted their relationship to be public? No.

But she knew. She could tell by the way he looked at her, the way he touched her, the way he held her, what he wanted. He had shown her that she meant more to him than just sex, but they had never actually talked about it. So why should he get mad when she decided not to tell anyone at work? Was she supposed to be able to read his mind to find out what he wanted from her?

True, she knew deep down what he wanted from her. How he wanted to be able to take her on dates, buy her flowers, be able to call her his girlfriend. But he had never actually said it to her. She could tell by the way he looked, touched, and talked to her that he cared, but never had he said anything. Never had he voiced out his opinions of their "relationship" to her.

Kate Beckett was found at work three hours later. She wasn't necessarily doing what some people called work. She was staring off. Her brow was furrowed, letting people know that she was thinking about something. Whenever someone went to talk to her or ask her something, she shut them off or gave them a short reply. She was not in the mood to talk to anyone, didn't feel like it, using the time she had to think.

She left right after her shift was over. She didn't stop to talk to anyone, didn't stay late as she normally did, and didn't tell anyone goodbye. She looked as though she was in a hurry, a hurry to get away from everything that surrounded her, hoping to find some peace and silence elsewhere.

She had one thing, one goal only in mind. She had to talk to him. She had to apologize, make her excuses if she must. She had to do something to explain the reason for her actions, to help realize the pain that she felt. She never meant to hurt him, she wasn't purposefully trying to cause him pain. She had to talk to him, work things out.

He hadn't been with her this whole day. She never knew how much she would miss his comments, his little remarks that normally made her skin boil. She would have done anything to have them back. She never thought she would say it, but she actually got joy out of his teasing. It made her job easier. Sometimes it held to be a distraction to her, but it helped ease the grief of some of the cases she had.

She found herself knocking on his door half an hour later. She didn't know what she was going to say, what she was going to. She hoped that by seeing him, she would open up and tell him everything she had wanted to say in the beginning.

The door opened and she found herself looking into the eyes of a teenage girl.

"Detective Beckett." Alexis said, surprised to see Kate standing outside the door.

"Alexis." Beckett said. She searched for what to say next. "Is your dad home?"

"Yeah. Come on in." Alexis said opening the door allowing Beckett to come inside.

Beckett felt awkward as she walked through the door. She suspected that most likely Alexis knew nothing of what had happened earlier. But, Alexis and her dad were close. She knew that they talked about anything. So whether Alexis knew that she and Castle had got into a fight earlier was something that she was not willing to bet any money on.

"I'm pretty sure that dad's still in his office." Alexis said pointing over to the closed door that had light streaming out from under it, noting Castle was probably working.

"Alright, thanks." Kate said heading toward the closed door.

"Dad told me what happened. He seemed upset when he got home and he told me that you guys got into a…brawl was the fancy way he put it. He hasn't left his office all day." She wasn't sure why she told Kate this. Mostly because she was worried about her dad. She had never seen him this upset before. He hadn't even eaten or stopped to take a break. Whether he was working or not, she wasn't sure.

_She saw movement of a shadow from under the door now and again, as though he was pacing. She had called outside the door, asking him if he needed anything. He told her no and when she had opened the door, she found him behind his desk , laptop on top of his desk. He was staring blankly at the screen as if off in another world. She simply smiled, "Love you dad." _

_"Love you too, pumpkin." He had told her. She closed the door and that was that._

_It wasn't until an hour later when he came out to get a bottle of water had he told her what happened. A brief description or synopsis as he called it._

"It was just a misunderstanding that happened at work." Kate tried to downplay the whole situation.

"Well whatever it was, I just hope you guys work it out. You're good for him, Kate." Wow, that was the first time that Alexis had ever used her first name, Beckett thought to herself. "You make him happy and its straightforward chemistry, you guys balance each other out." Alexis turned to walk upstairs.

Kate just stared after his teenage daughter. She had never expected to hear that come from a fifteen year old. It really showed how mature she was for her age.

She walked over to the office door. She paused, taking in a deep breath before opening the door.

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**1) I have a feeling the next chapter will be short because I plan it just being the *fight* (plan being the keyword here)**

**2) Sorry its taking me soo long to update, getting ready to graduate in two weeks, so I will be faster soon, I promise :)**

**3) Ok, here's the truth...After last week's episode, "Overkill", when Kate kiss Demming I was depressed...so I'm thinking thats why I let them get into a fight (I just couldnt get Castle's face when he saw them kiss out of my mind), so I wrote something on the lines of that...**

**4) This story changes on me constantly. I've been trying to write outlines, detailing what's going to happen in each chapter and it just doesnt work.**

**5) I know...there needs to be more romance, etc. I'm waiting on that though...but I promise, its coming! :) **

**6) I am now an established Beta Reader, need any help, just let me know :)**

**6) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Not only does it make me want to write more, but it's really encouraging and I love it! **

**7) Follow me on twitter or message me on AIM (clcummins12), thanks guys! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok so first and foremost I want to give a big, no HUGE, shoutout to BetweenTwoWorlds! This girl helped me soooo much! The last part of this story would not be nearly as good if it weren't for her! So, once again, thanks! :)**

**Here it is, CHAPTER 4 :)**

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Night Into Dawn and Beyond: Chapter 4

Castle sat as his desk staring at a blank computer screen. Kate hesitated before she walked into the room. She had no idea what she was going to say to him. She had to go in though, she had to work things out with him. Establish where they both stood when it came to their relationship. She slowly stepped in, closing the door behind her.

Castle didn't bother to look up. He had hoped that she would come by, but quite honestly, he wasn't sure if she would. He had so many feelings that he had kept bottled up, in fear of scaring her off. He couldn't keep them in any longer. He cared about her too much. Love? Well that was a big responsibility that came along in any relationship. He couldn't say if he had reached that place yet or not, but he could definitely see their relationship getting there. If only she would let him.

"Castle." He heard Kate's voice echo in the room, invading into his thoughts. Only then did he look up, meeting her eyes. She might as well get it out there. "I wanted to talk about what happened at the precinct."

Still, he said nothing.

Kate continued, "I was wrong to have lied about our relationship. But you have to understand where I'm coming from. I'm not ready for our relationship to be open. I'm not ready for everyone at the precinct to know. It has nothing to do with you, but it has everything to do with my job. It has everything to do with the reputation I wish to maintain at work."

"How could being in a relationship with me ruin your reputation?"

"Not _ruin_ my reputation, but it could hurt it. Don't you see how being in a relationship with you could skew my judgment?"

"No more as it would now. Either way we're still in a relationship, private or not."

"But it could make other's question my decisions. Haven't you ever heard 'never mix work with pleasure'? People might start doubting my procedures and protocols by wondering if I'm more focused on my relationship, rather than my career. Or if we get into a fight and it carries over to work. You can't say that everything will stay the same at work, because it won't."

"The thing that I don't understand is that you obviously don't want our relationship to be public, you don't want anyone at work to know. Tell me then, Kate. What do you want? Do you even want us to keep seeing each other? Does that even matter to you? You say you don't want people at work to know because of your reputation, would you rather me stop following you around? Will that give me the chance to be with you? Jesus Christ, Kate! Just tell me, what do I have to do?"

His words hurt her, but she had to stay strong, she had to fight her point, she could not let her guard down.

"I just want things to be simple! I can't handle complicated right now, and you Castle, you're the definition of complicated. Why does everything with you have to be open, have to be known by all? That's all your life is, Castle! Your life's like an open book that anyone can turn to and read! You don't care if the tabloids, newspapers, magazines, or anything else, you don't care to let them into your personal life. You don't care if everyone knows who your hot new fling is or who you're screwing. Can you not see that I'm not like that? That I like to keep my private life what it's meant to be-private?"

"So you want me to give up writing? Can't you tell that I try my best to stay as private as I can be? Besides book signings or red carpet events I'm hardly ever in the tabloids. True, I may have been like that at first. But ever since I've met you Kate…you changed that. You made me realize that fame, that being the hot new "thing", all of that, it doesn't matter."

"Castle, I-"

"Just hear me out." Kate nodded her head giving him the notion to continue. "I've made it clear that I care about you. And over the past couple of weeks, I've shown you that you're more to me than just sex. This isn't a game for me, Kate. I know you think I'm immature when it comes to serious matters such as this. I don't know, maybe you think I'm careless, seeing that I've been married twice and both of them ended in complete failure. I'm not good enough for you, in fact, I probably never will be. But, Kate, all that I'm asking for is a chance. A chance for me to develop deeper and stronger feelings for you, a chance to show you how much I truly care, a chance to show that all of this, what we have, it's not a game to me."

"How can you be so sure that everything would even work? That's a huge risk in itself. I can't take that risk. You may be sure Castle, but me…I'm not."

"Goddamnit Kate! All I'm asking for is just a chance. I want to be in a relationship with you. I think we're good for each other, I think we could end up being something serious. I've been trying to be patient, to give you time and space because I didn't want to rush you or scare you, for that matter. But you have this whole wall of doubts built around you. It's like you're waiting for an excuse, so you can point and say 'There- that right there is why we won't work.' You have to trust someone at some point in your life, Kate. Eventually the walls have to come down for someone, you have to let someone in, and I want to be that someone."

"Did you ever think that those walls are there for a reason Castle? I've been burned too many times to not have those defenses. You're used to hiding behind your books, using your characters to do what you want to do. How can I be sure that you're not just using me to get on top of New York's best sellers list? How can I be sure that you're not just using me as a muse, something to scratch an itch, get ideas from and then leave? That's what you've done with other people your whole life, what makes me any different?"

"Jesus, Kate. If I were using you for a muse do you not think I would have had my way with you and be done with you by now?"

Kate froze. She had seen Castle angry before, but never like this. She had never heard him actually yell at anyone. She turned towards the door.

"Come on, Kate. I didn't mean it like-" But she was gone. She had slammed the door and left his apartment as quickly as she could. "Damnit." Castle muttered to himself.

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**Yes, I know another cliffhanger...ughhh haha :)**

**Any one you Lainie fans out there? Well here's a spoiler alert: she might just make her way into Chapter 5 :)**

**Also, sorry its taking me long to update, even though this is probably the quickest I've updated in about a month...I've been busy reading and correcting other people's stories, and once again, if anyone else needs any ideas, etc... let me know :)**

**Please Review and let me know what you think :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Night Into Dawn and Beyond: Chapter 5

It had been a week since the case had been solved. A week since Kate had been able to concentrate. A week since Richard Castle had been in to sit in the chair by her desk. A whole week that Kate had been going over the fight, step by step in her mind. '_First I said, then he said, then I…_' She was not allowed to concentrate on work. Slowly she had been falling behind on paperwork, making her work extra hours and getting behind on her sleep.

Ryan and Esposito had both been asking about "writer boy", as they called him. Wanting to know where he was, when he would come back, if he would come back. To all of these questions, Beckett had no answer. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that Rick would stop working with her, but she had completely walked out on him. Maybe it was possible…

Kate suddenly got up from her desk and began to walk towards the elevator. Ryan and Esposito began follow, thinking that she had perhaps gotten a call about a case.

"Lanie…" was all Kate had to say and they understood. Kate needed some privacy and some girl talk with her best friend.

Kate took the elevator down to the basement where Lainie's lab was kept. There were many, many things that Kate had to get off her chest and what better way than to tell her best friend? They had shared almost everything together. She knew that Lainie would probably kill her once Kate told her that she and Rick had sex, but at least she would be able to talk to _someone_ about it. About what it meant, what she wanted, what she thought he wanted.

After arriving on the bottom floor, Kate took the hallways she knew from memory, leading her straight into Lanie's office area.

"I was wondering when you were gonna come see me." Lanie said not bothering to look up from the body she was examining.

Kate smiled, had to love Lanie. "What do you mean?" Kate asked acting oblivious. She knew that Lanie had probably realized what had been going on with her and Castle.

"Don't play dumb with me, girl. I know about you and writer boy. Mhmm…" Lanie looked up at Kate, waiting for her reply. Truth is, she suspected something was up, but what, she wasn't exactly sure.

"Where do you want me to start?" Kate asked giving in.

"From the beginning, where else?"

"Alright." Kate began with the long explanation of Castle staying over at her apartment when the serial killer had been trying to kill her. She told her about how she woke up in the middle of the night; how they watched a movie together. Then she began to tell her how things got heated and they started making out.

"You did what!" Lanie all but shouted.

"Shhh…you never know who's listening outside." Kate told her friend.

"Please girl. No one ever comes down here." Lanie told her and then motioned for her friend to continue.

The lab was a place that hardly anyone went down to; Lainie was right about that part. It was a morgue for heaven's sake. It smelt like dead people. Normally the only visitors Lanie ever had were other detectives and with it being so quiet down there, you could nearly always hear them coming. Besides that, it was nearly lunch time, which meant that most of the detectives had taken their break. However, this time was different. This time, there was someone waiting right outside the door, able to hear every word both of the ladies spoke. Someone who was extremely interested in what was being said and heard; who had decided to stay out, holding two coffee cups, waiting patiently until the conversation was over.

Ryan and Esposito had told Castle where Kate would be, saying that she went to have a "talk" with Lanie. They had asked if he wanted to go eat with them to which he simply replied no, stating that he would come back later. That "later" happened to lead him down to Lanie's lab.

A smiled formed on Castle's lips as Kate began explaining the night they had shared together.

"So let me get this straight, you had sex with Castle, and you didn't tell me? Girl, what the hell?" Lanie said.

Kate began to laugh. "I know, I'm sorry. I've been busy over the last couple of weeks."

"Weeks? Oh no, girl! You did not just say that! You waited weeks to tell me? Exactly how many?"

"Around…3?" Kate said. Exactly how many weeks had it been? Hell, if Kate knew.

"3 weeks!" Lanie blew out an exasperated breath. "Well…how was he? I mean he looks like-"

"It was amazing!" Kate cut her off. "He was amazing! I knew he'd be good, or thought he would, but wow…let's just say I haven't been able to sleep without first thinking about what went on that night."

"Damn girl! He must've been good I mean look at you! You're ecstatic! I don't think I've ever seen you this wound up over any other guy you've dated before." Kate began to lightly blush.

"He just makes me feel like…well, like myself. And every time I see him…I can't concentrate on anything else but him. I must admit, it makes working a bit hard at times."

"So where is he now anyways? I mean, you guys are dating now, it seems like he'd be right here with you."

Kate looked down. "We had a fight."

"A fight? Oh no, I know what this is, I can see it on your face. Girl, don't tell me you're having doubts."

"It's not doubts, it precautions. I mean, look at me Lanie. I'm just a cop for god's sake. I'm not supposed to be dating rich and famous authors. We are two completely opposite people. Plus, look at his track record. Two ex-wives, both gorgeous I might add. I just don't want to end up being another conquest, another fling for him to cast away once he gets tired of me."

"Are you blind? Girl, that man is in love with you. Every time he's with you, he can't stop looking at you or bumping up against you. Yeah, I've noticed. Don't just give up on him because you have "precautions". Give him a chance. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But trust me, it'll work. I see the way you guys look at each other. There's something there, something you definitely shouldn't give up on before trying it out. And about the opposites. Girl, don't you know your chemistry? Two opposites attract, it's the same way with people. You balance each other out. He shows you a different side to things, something that's not just good for solving cases, but also good when it comes to developing your own self."

"Did I miss the part when you signed up to be a psychiatrist?" Kate laughed.

"No. But you did miss the part where I took two years of psych. What you're dealing with is science-cold, hard, unchanging facts."

"That's what Alexis said-about the two opposites attract."

"Wait, you talked to the daughter about this? Before me?" Lanie's voice started to rise again.

"No, no, no. Ok, story time. At work, Ryan and Esposito asked if Castle and I were dating because I had left my car here the night before."

"Oh yeah. I heard something about that, thought it was just gossip. I see I was wrong…"

Kate waved Lainie off, smiling. "Right as they ask me, Castle appears at the door. So I don't know what to say and Castle just waits there, as if I'm the genius of coming up with stories. So, of course, I tell them no."

"Of course."

"Castle gets mad, sad, hurt, whatever and he left. Well, I decided to go see him that night, to work everything out. I finally get the guts to knock on his door and low and behold, Alexis answers. She said how Rick had been cooped up in his office all day and just told her a little bit about what happened. Then she said I'm good for him…"

"How did that girl get to be so mature? I mean just look at her father." Lanie sent Kate a grin and they both laughed. "Well if you're asking for my opinion I say the daughter's right. Now go on, get to the fight."

"Right the fight…Basically, I just told him that I don't trust him. I'm afraid that he just likes me because of Nikki Heat. I'm not gonna change who I am and I'm afraid he'll be disappointed with just me."

"Did that man ever ask you to be anyone or anything else? Do you think that he would still stick around if all he thought of you as was a muse?"

"That's what he said...and I overreacted, got mad, and left."

"And now you came to tell me this because you realize you were wrong?"

"I admit that I did over react. But wrong? Lanie, I can't help but think that it wouldn't work out. What's the point of trying it if I'm almost one hundred percent sure that I'm going to get hurt in the end?"

"There's always the chance of that happening. In every relationship you get in to, there's always that chance. But don't just turn down a great guy who obviously cares about you because you don't know that it will work out. You have to learn to trust people eventually. Just tell me the truth, do you want to date him?"

"Is that even a question to consider, of course I do."

"So…?"

"I know, I know. I should just be honest with him, tell him how I feel?"

"Honesty always seems the best way to go to me."

"Yeah, thanks Lanie."

"No prob girl. You know how much I love girl talks. Especially the juicy gossip that comes along with them. So now go, go find your writer boy before it's too late."

"Alright. By the way-"

There was a crash outside the door followed by a few shouts of pain. Lanie and Beckett looked at each other questioningly. Kate walked toward the door cautiously, hand over her hip where her gun was located. She opened the door.

Castle was hopping around in pain waving his hand around.

"Castle?" Kate looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Ouch! Hot! Hot!"

"What are you doing here? In fact, how long have you been here?" Lanie walked over to where Kate was. They both crossed their arms across their chest, waiting for his reply.

"I have coffee. Well I had coffee, but then it slipped and spilt all over my hand... and clothes for that matter." Castle looked down at his wet button up shirt. He tried smiling at her, knowing from the look in her eyes that he was in trouble.

"Lanie, I'll catch up with you later. Castle." Kate walked past him, motioning for him to follow her. Lanie just simply smiled and shook her head at Castle, Castle merely shrugged and went to catch up with Kate.

She walked to the elevator, him following behind her. They got on the elevator, still in silence. Then Kate turned around to face him.

"Hmm?" He asked when she said nothing.

"Exactly how long were you outside the door eavesdropping?"

"I wouldn't consider it eavesdropping. I accidently overheard your conversation."

"Accidently, huh?"

"It's not like I purposely meant to walk down here at the exact time you were describing how great having sex with me was."

Kate suddenly turned an instant dark pink color.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, detective. Just pure fact. By the way, I loved the details, have you ever thought of writing?" Castle asked, smiling.

"You have some nerve. What I said to Lanie was supposed to be heard by her ears only. You had no right to listen in."

"Maybe I didn't. But at least I was able to learn things that you would have never told me." Kate was quiet. "Like how you're afraid, how you don't trust me…" he moved closer to her trapping her between his body and the side of the elevator. She looked up at him, wondering what he was planning to do. "How you…" he said slowly lowering his mouth to hers. "…want to date and be in a relationship…" His mouth tortuously lingered over hers. She let out a soft moan. "Hmm?" he backed up, just enough to look into her eyes, smiling that cocky smile at her.

"Damnit Castle, just kiss me already." Kate said.

"Oh I'll do more than kiss you." He replied bringing his mouth down to meet hers.

His kiss was soft at first, barely grazing over her lips. She leaned into him, moving her hands up to roam freely through his hair. She began to pull him towards her wanting to have closer contact with him. He moved his hands down to her hips, gripping them firmly and pressed her body against his. She began to let out a moan as his hands found their way under her shirt to the smooth skin beneath. They began stroking her up and down the length of her body. Her mouth opened and he began to explore with his tongue, nipping and teasing along the way. She moved her hands to his chest and began to struggle with the buttons. She let out another soft moan as his hands ventured up to her breasts, tormenting her. She leaned her head to the side allowing him better access to her neck where he took the opportunity gladly. His mouth ravished her, playfully biting the exposed skin. His mouth eventually found its way up to her earlobe sucking it in his mouth and returned back to her lips.

The elevator dinged, bringing them back to reality. Castle quickly stopped what he was doing just as the doors had opened. Everyone was back from lunch and busily working away. They straightened themselves up; Castle buttoned back the top buttons on his shirt. Hoping that no one would notice how jumbled they both looked, they walked into the bullpen. They thought they had gotten away with it until they saw Ryan and Esposito looking over, both of them having the exact same smiles they had a week ago. Castle ran his hand through his hair trying to fix it back to the way it had looked before Kate had ran her hands through it.

"Hey guys." Castle simply said as he passed them.

"Hi…" they both said in unison.

They went to Kate's desk both sitting down and began to act like they were reading case files. They could both feel Ryan and Esposito's stares but chose to ignore them. They would find out soon enough, as if they didn't already know.

"So just to get everything straight, we're dating right?" Castle asked after a few moments, speaking loudly enough for only Kate's ears.

"We're dating." She said not looking up at him, but couldn't stop the smile that began to form on her lips.

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***ATTENTION* I have decided to write a Castle series, it's called "The Night Series". The next story continuing this series is called, "Night Falls" where chapter 6 and 7 will be moved to, so check it out! :D and please leave me reviews, letting me know what you think about it! thanks!**

**Yay! Some Casket smut! About time, right? haha **

**Well, trust me, there's alot more of that to come! **

**Also, I had alot of fun with Lanie. Wanted to get Kate's perspective on how she felt with what happened in the 'The Night Over', so that's why I recapped some of that story. I have no idea where the next chapter's gonna take me, honestly I never have a clue where my chapters take me, I kinda sit back and let the characters do their own thing (hopefully that'll make sense to some of you other FF writers). **

**I'm graduating on Friday the 28th! Yipee! that being said, I doubt I will be able to post another chapter up until after graduation is over... sorry =(**

**Thanks for keeping up with this story! Now that they are finally in a "confirmed" relationship, I'm ready to have some real fun with them :) Please Review-it means the world to me!**


	6. Chapter 6

***IMPORTANT* *READ THE INFORMATION LOCATED DOWN BELOW TO KNOW SOME CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURED***

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Night Into Dawn and Beyond: Final Note

Hey guys! This is just a random/friendly author's note that I'm leaving to let you confused/non-twitter followers :p know what's up. So, here's the deal. I decided to write a series. Already I had the two stories, "The Night Over" and "Night Into Dawn and Beyond" and I was getting ready to get into a serial killer type thing. I thought it would be better to leave "Night Into Dawn and Beyond" off with Castle and Beckett FINALLY being a relationship together and then make another story ALL about the serial killer and continue growing their relationship, are you following me? So I moved chapters 6&7 to start off the beginning of my new story: "Night Falls"; hence my series name, 'The Night Series'. I am super excited about this series and hope that all of you have read "The Night Over" because these stories build off of one another. So all of you who are following this story and want to read to continue to see where these two love birds are going, go to my profile, click on "Night Falls" and press the Review button, then you can leave me a nice review, to which I will be grateful and you can also follow that story, because let me tell you, that story is gonna rock! I already know exactly where it's gonna go and it's goooooddd haha Thanks!

-CC-

P.S. follow me on twitter; anyone's welcome to! /clcummins12


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